Circuit module

ABSTRACT

A circuit module 2 comprises: a wiring structure 4; at least one electronic component 6a, 6b arranged on the upper surface of the wiring structure 4; an insulating resin layer 8 which is provided on the upper surface of the wiring structure 4 and in which at least one electronic component 6a, 6b is embedded; and a metal layer 10 provided on the upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8. The surface roughness of the portion S1 directly above each electronic component on the upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8 is expressed as R1. The surface roughness of the portion S2 other than the portion directly above all the electronic components on the upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8 is expressed as R2. At least one R1 satisfies the condition: R1&gt;R2.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a circuit module.

BACKGROUND

There is known a circuit module equipped with a wiring structure, anelectronic component arranged on the upper surface of the wiringstructure, and an insulating resin layer in which the electroniccomponent is embedded. As is known, a metal layer is provided on theupper surface of the insulating resin layer for electromagneticshielding of the electronic component.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2010-114291

SUMMARY

There is a difference in CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) betweenthe electronic component and the insulating resin layer, so that whenheat processing is performed on the circuit module, stress is generatedin the circuit module. In the conventional circuit module, when stressis applied to the metal layer, the metal layer is likely to be separatedfrom the insulating resin layer. In particular, when the metal layersituated directly above the electronic component is separated, theelectromagnetic shielding effect is likely to be markedly deteriorated.Further, in the case where the metal layer is utilized as a wiringlayer, the stray capacitance between the electronic component and themetal layer is changed, and the electrical characteristic in the highfrequency range is allowed to be deviated with respect to the designintention.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problem in theprior art technique. It is an object of the present invention to providea circuit module in which the metal layer situated directly above theelectronic component is hard to separate.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided acircuit module comprising: a wiring structure; at least one electroniccomponent arranged on an upper surface of the wiring structure; aninsulating resin layer which is provided on the upper surface of thewiring structure and in which at least one electronic component isembedded; and a metal layer provided on an upper surface of theinsulating resin layer. When the surface roughness of the portiondirectly above each electronic component on the upper surface of theinsulating resin layer is expressed as R1, and the surface roughness ofthe portion other than the portion directly above all the electroniccomponents on the upper surface of the insulating resin layer isexpressed as R2, at least one R1 satisfies the condition: R1>R2.

In the above circuit module, R1>R2, with the result that the adherencebetween the insulating resin layer and the metal layer on the portiondirectly above the electronic component is higher than the adherencebetween the insulating resin layer and the metal layer on the portionother than the portion directly above the electronic component. Thus,the metal layer on the portion directly above the electronic componentis hard to separate. In the case where the metal layer is separated fromthe insulating resin layer through heat processing or the like, themetal layer on the portion other than the portion directly above theelectronic component is first separated. After this, due to the presenceof the portion where the metal layer has been separated, the stressapplied to the metal layer is mitigated, and the metal layer on theportion directly above the electronic component becomes still harder toseparate.

In a circuit module according to an aspect of the present invention,R1/R2 may range from 1.01 to 8.00. In this mode, the metal layer on theportion directly above the electronic component is still harder toseparate.

In a circuit module according to an aspect of the present invention, atleast a part of the upper surface of the electronic component may have aconcave or a convex configuration. In this mode, the adherence betweenthe insulating resin layer and the metal layer on the portion directlyabove the electronic component is likely to be still higher, with theresult that the difference between the adherence between the insulatingresin layer and the metal layer on the portion directly above theelectronic component and the adherence between the insulating resinlayer and the metal layer on the portion other than the portion directlyabove the electronic component is likely to become still larger. As aresult, the metal layer on the portion directly above the electroniccomponent is still harder to separate.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a circuitmodule in which the metal layer situated directly above the electroniccomponent is hard to separate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a circuit module according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are sectional views of electronic components.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are plan views of the electronic components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail. In the drawings, the same or equivalent componentsare designated by the same reference numerals. The upper limit value andthe lower limit value of each value range given in the presentspecification allow arbitrary combination.

A circuit module 2 according to the present embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIG. 1. The circuit module 2 is equipped with a wiringstructure 4, electronic components 6 a and 6 b, connection portions 20and 22, an insulating resin layer 8, and a metal layer 10.

The wiring structure 4 has an insulating layer 24, and a plurality ofwiring layers 12 and 14 provided on the upper surface of the insulatinglayer 24. The material of the insulating layer 24 may, for example, beresin, ceramic, or resin-impregnated glass fiber. The resin may be epoxyresin, polyimide or the like. The ceramic may be alumina or the like.The ceramic may be LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramics), HTCC (hightemperature co-fired ceramics) or the like. The resin-impregnated glassfiber may be CCL (copper clad laminate) or the like. The material of thewiring layers 12 and 14 may be copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) or the like.

The electronic component 6 a is arranged on the upper surface of thewiring structure 4. The electronic component 6 a is equipped with a mainbody portion 36, and a plurality of terminal portions 37 provided on theback surface of the main body portion 36. Although not shown, the mainbody portion 36 is provided with a device electrically connected to eachterminal portion 37. At least a part of the upper surface of theelectronic component 6 a has unevenness.

The electronic component 6 b is arranged on the upper surface of thewiring structure 4. The electronic component 6 b is equipped with a mainbody portion 16, and a pair of terminal portions 18 respectivelyprovided at both side end portions of the main body portion 16. Althoughnot shown, the main body portion 16 is provided with a deviceelectrically connected to each terminal portion 18. At least a part ofthe upper surface of the electronic component 6 b has unevenness.

Devices of the electronic components 6 a and 6 b may, for example, becapacitors, inductors, resistors, semiconductors, or SAW (surfaceacoustic wave) filters. The capacitor may be a laminated ceramiccapacitor (MLCC: multi-layer ceramic capacitor) or the like. Theinductor may be formed of a material such as a resin type, an aluminatype, a ferrite type, or a metal type material. The electroniccomponents 6 a and 6 b may be integrated circuits (IC).

Each connection portion 20 electrically connects each terminal portion37 of the electronic component 6 a and each wiring layer 12 of thewiring structure 4. In the present embodiment, the connection portion 20can be formed through reflow of solder bumps provided at the terminalportions 37 of the electronic component 6 a. Each connection portion 22electrically connects each terminal portion 18 of the electroniccomponent 6 b and each wiring layer 14 of the wiring structure 4. Theconnection portions 22 can be formed through reflow of printing solderprovided on the terminal portion 18 of the electronic component 6 b.

The insulating resin layer 8 is provided on the upper surface of thewiring structure 4. The electronic components 6 a and 6 b are embeddedin the insulating resin layer 8. The insulating resin layer 8 is a layerincluding resin. The resin may be epoxy resin or the like. Theinsulating resin layer 8 may consist solely of resin, or may includesome other ingredient in addition to the resin. The insulating resinlayer 8 may include, for example, filler.

The upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8 has unevenness. Theconfiguration of the unevenness that the upper surface of the insulatingresin layer 8 has may correspond to the configuration of the unevennessthat the upper surface of the electronic components 6 a and 6 b has.

Here, the upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8 is classifiedinto a portion S1 directly above the electronic component 6 a or 6 b anda portion S2 other than all the portions directly above the electroniccomponents (the portion not directly above any electronic component).The surface roughness of each portion S1 is expressed as R1, and thesurface roughness of the portion S2 is expressed as R2.

In the circuit module 2 of the present embodiment, the surface roughnessR1 of at least one of the portions S1 directly above electroniccomponent is larger than the surface roughness R2 of the portion S2 thatis not directly above the electronic component. In other words, at leastone R1 satisfies the condition: R1>R2.

In the case where there are a plurality of electronic components, it isonly necessary for the surface roughness R1 of the portion S1 directlyabove at least one electronic component to be larger than the surfaceroughness R2. However, the surface roughness R1 of each of the portionsS1 directly above a plurality of electronic components may be largerthan R2.

Here, the surface roughness means the arithmetic average roughness Ra asspecified in JIS B 0601:2013.

R1/R2 may range, for example, from 1.01 to 8.00, or from 1.03 to 2.00.In the case where R1/R2 is within the above range, the metal layer 10 onthe portion S1 directly above the electronic component is still harderto separate.

R1 may range, for example, from 0.23 to 2.3 μm. R2 may range, forexample, from 0.05 to 1.5 μm. The surface roughness can be measured byusing, for example, a configuration measurement laser microscopemanufactured by KEYENCE Co., Ltd. (model: VK-X200). The lensmagnification employed at this time may be ×20 or ×50. The measurementfield of view may range, for example, from 150 μm×150 μm to 700 μm×500μm. At the time of measurement, it is possible to provide, with respectto the measurement specimen, a cutoff wavelength λc distinguishingbetween surface roughness and warpage. λc may range from 50 to 300 μm.

The metal layer 10 is provided on the upper surface of the insulatingresin layer 8. The metal layer 10 may be also provided on the sidesurface of the insulating resin layer 8 and on the side surface of thewiring structure 4. The metal layer 10 functions as the electromagneticshield or the wiring of the electronic component device. The metal layer10 is a layer including a metal. There are no particular limitationsregarding as the material of the metal layer 10 so long as it is amaterial of the electromagnetic shield or the wiring. The material ofthe metal layer 10 may, for example, be a material containing aconductive element such as Cu, Ni, Fe, Cr, Co, Al, or Ag or a magneticelement. The metal layer 10 may assume various modes such as a singlelayer, a multi-layer, and a composite with resin.

The circuit module 2 according to the present embodiment can beproduced, for example, by the following method. The method of producingthe circuit module 2, however, is not restricted to the following one.

First, there are prepared the wiring structure 4, and the electroniccomponents 6 a and 6 b having unevenness on the upper surface thereof.Unevenness may be provided on the upper surface of electronic componentsto form the electronic components 6 a and 6 b having unevenness on theupper surface thereof. In this case, the unevenness can be formed, forexample, by the following method. For example, the unevenness may beformed through scanning of the upper surface of the electronic componentby using a laser beam machine, with the laser beam being defocused. Theunevenness may be transferred at the time of the molding of theelectronic component. The unevenness pattern may be formed on theelectronic component by utilizing photolithography. The unevenness maybe formed by adjusting the grain size of the material constituting theelectronic component, and leaving the grain unevenness on the surface ofthe electronic component. FIGS. 2A and 2B are sectional views of theelectronic components. The unevenness may be of a concave configurationas shown in FIG. 2A, or of a convex configuration as shown in FIG. 2B.In other words, on the upper surface of the electronic component, theremay be formed recesses 42 a as shown in FIG. 2A, or protrusions 42 b asshown in FIG. 2B. FIGS. 3A to 3D are plan views of the electroniccomponents. As shown in FIG. 3A, the unevenness may be strip-likerecesses 42 a or protrusions 42 b extending in one direction. As shownin FIG. 3B, the unevenness may be strip-like recesses 42 a orprotrusions 42 b extending in two directions. As shown in FIG. 3C, theunevenness may be rectangular recesses 42 a or protrusions 42 b. Asshown in FIG. 3D, the unevenness may be round recesses 42 a orprotrusions 42 b. Although not shown, it is only necessary for the size,interval, etc. of this unevenness to be in a range allowing formation onthe electronic components 6 a and 6 b. They may be regular unevenness,or irregular unevenness. While in FIGS. 2A and 2B the inner surface ofthe recesses and the outer surface of the protrusions are perpendicularor parallel to the upper surface of the electronic component, they mayalso be inclined with respect thereto. The inner surface of the recessesand the outer surface of the protrusions may be flat surfaces or curvedsurfaces.

Next, by the well-known reflow method or the like, the wiring layer ofthe wiring structure 4 and the terminal portions of the electroniccomponents 6 a and 6 b are connected via the connection portions 20 and22. After this, the insulating resin layer 8 is formed on the uppersurface of the wiring structure 4 to seal the electronic components 6 aand 6 b. When the insulating resin layer 8 is formed, the insulatingresin layer 8 undergoes deformation along the configuration of theunevenness on the upper surface of the electronic component 6 a, 6 b,whereby there are formed on the upper surface of the insulating resinlayer 8 unevenness corresponding to the unevenness on the upper surfaceof the electronic component 6 a, 6 b. The method of forming theinsulating resin layer 8 may, for example, be transfer molding,compression molding, printing, laminating, or casting. From theviewpoint of efficiently forming the unevenness on the surface of theinsulating resin layer 8, it is desirable for the method of forming theinsulating resin layer 8 to be compression molding.

After this, the metal layer 10 is formed on the upper surface and theside surface of the insulating resin layer 8. The method of forming themetal layer 10 may be plating, sputtering or the like.

In the circuit module 2 of the present embodiment, the surface roughnessR1 of at least one of the portions S1 directly above the electroniccomponent on the upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8 is largerthan the surface roughness R2 of the portion S2 that is not directlyabove the electronic components. As a result, the adherence between theinsulating resin layer 8 and the metal layer 10 at the portion S1directly above the electronic component is higher than the adherencebetween the insulating resin layer 8 and the metal layer 10 at theportion S2 that is not directly above the electronic component. Thus,the metal layer 10 at the portion S1 directly above the electroniccomponent is hard to separate. In the case where the metal layer 10 isseparated from the insulating resin layer 8 by the thermal stress due toheat processing or the like, the metal layer 10 at the portion S2 thatis not directly above the electronic component is first separated. Afterthis, due to the presence of the portion where the metal layer 10 hasbeen separated, the stress applied to the metal layer 10 is mitigated,and the metal layer 10 at the portion S1 directly above the electroniccomponent becomes still harder to separate. In this way, even if inadvertent separation is generated in the metal layer 10, separation ofthe metal layer 10 at the portion S1 directly above the electroniccomponent is suppressed, whereby it is possible to minimize theinfluence on the electrical characteristics of the circuit module 2.

The present invention is not restricted to the embodiment thereofdescribed in detail above.

For example, in the circuit module 2, a wiring layer may be furtherprovided on the lower surface of an insulating layer 24 that the wiringstructure 4 has. The wiring layer may be further provided in theinsulating layer 24. The wiring structure 4 may be a single layer or amulti-layer substrate (build-up substrate). The wiring structure 4 maybe further equipped with an insulating covering layer provided on theupper surface of the insulating layer 24. The insulating covering layermay cover a part of the wiring layers 12 and 14. The insulating coveringlayer may be a solder resist layer or the like.

While in the circuit module 2 the number of electronic components istwo, at least one electronic component suffices, and the number may beone or three or more. There are no particular restrictions regarding thesize and configuration of the electronic components. Nor are there anyparticular restrictions regarding the number of terminal portions of theelectronic components, the number of wiring layers of the wiringstructure, and the number of connection portions.

While in the circuit module 2 there are provided unevenness on the uppersurface of the electronic component 6 a, unevenness may be furtherprovided on the lower surface or the side surface of the electroniccomponent 6 a, or unevenness may be provided on the entire surface ofthe electronic component 6 a. Further, while unevenness is provided onthe upper surface of the main body portion 16 of the electroniccomponent 6 b, unevenness may be further provided on the lower surfaceof the main body portion 16, the upper surface of each terminal portion18, or the side surface of each terminal portion 18, or unevenness maybe provided on the entire surface of the electronic component 6 b.

When sealing the electronic component 6 a, 6 b with the insulating resinlayer 8, there are formed, on the upper surface of the insulating resinlayer 8, unevenness corresponding to the unevenness on the upper surfaceof the electronic component 6 a, 6 b. After this, different unevennessmay be further provided on the upper surface of the insulating resinlayer 8. The insulating resin layer 8 may have unevenness on the sidesurface in addition to those on the upper surface.

Even in the case where the electronic component 6 a, 6 b has nounevenness on the upper surface thereof, the present invention can becarried out. In this case, on the surface of the mold for forming theinsulating resin layer 8, there are previously provided unevenness at aposition that is directly above the electronic component. Then, it ispossible to form unevenness on the portion S1 on the upper surface ofthe insulating resin layer 8. Further, by scanning the upper surface ofthe insulating resin layer 8 by using a laser beam machine, with thelaser beam being defocused, it is possible to form unevenness whileroughening the upper surface of the insulating resin layer 8.

While in the circuit module 2 the metal layer 10 is provided on theupper surface and the side surface of the insulating resin layer 8 andon the side surface of the wiring structure 4, it is only necessary forthe metal layer to be provided at least on the upper surface of theinsulating resin layer 8.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

2 . . . circuit module, 4 . . . wiring structure, 6 a, 6 b . . .electronic component, 8 . . . insulating resin layer, 10 . . . metallayer, 12, 14 . . . wiring layer, 16, 36 . . . main body portion, 18, 37. . . terminal portion, 20, 22 . . . connection portion, 24 . . .insulating layer.

What is claimed is:
 1. A circuit module comprising; a wiring structure;at least one electronic component arranged on an upper surface of thewiring structure; an insulating resin layer provided on the uppersurface of the wiring structure and in which the at least one electroniccomponent is embedded; and a metal layer provided on an upper surface ofthe insulating resin layer, wherein when a surface roughness of aportion directly above the at least one electronic component on theupper surface of the insulating resin layer is expressed as R1, and asurface roughness of a portion other than the portion directly above theat least one electronic component on the upper surface of the insulatingresin layer is expressed as R2, at least one R1 satisfies the condition:R1 >R2, when a surface roughness of a portion directly above the atleast one electronic component on an upper surface of the metal layer isexpressed as R3, at least one R1 and R3 satisfy the condition: R1 >R3,the upper surface of the insulating resin layer above the at least oneelectronic component and the upper surface of the at least oneelectronic component have a same shape, the at least one electroniccomponent is an inductor, resistor, or surface acoustic wave (SAW)filter, and at least a part of an upper surface of the at least oneelectronic component has a concave or a convex configuration.
 2. Thecircuit module according to claim 1, wherein R1/R2 ranges from 1.01 to8.00.
 3. The circuit module according to claim 1, wherein the at leastone electronic component is an inductor.
 4. The circuit module accordingto claim 1, wherein the portion directly above the at least oneelectronic component on the upper surface of the metal layer is flat.